Fw: [StephenKnappNewsList] Another reason for vegetarianism

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Monday, May 12, 2008 9:53 PM

[stephenKnappNewsList] Another reason for vegetarianism

 

 

 

Here is another reason to consider the advantages of the vegetarian diet.

The United States alone slaughters more than 10 billion land animalsevery year, all to sustain a meat-ravenous culture that can barelyconceive of a time not long ago when "a chicken in every pot" wasconsidered a luxury. Land animals raised for food make up a staggering20% of the entire land animal biomass of the earth. We are eating ourplanet to death.What we're seeing is just the beginning, too. Meat consumption hasincreased five-fold in the past fifty years, and is expected to doubleagain in the next fifty.

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian is the New PriusBy Kathy FrestonPosted January 18, 2007 | 07:05 PM (EST)Read More: Hoover, United Nations, Leonardo DiCaprio , Breaking Living NewsPresident Herbert Hoover promised "a chicken in every pot and a car inevery garage." With warnings about global warming reaching feverishlevels, many are having second thoughts about all those cars. It seemsthey should instead be worrying about the chickens.Last month, the United Nations published a report on livestock and theenvironment with a stunning conclusion: "The livestock sector emergesas one of the top two or three most significant contributors to themost serious environmental problems, at every scale from local toglobal." It turns out that raising animals for food is a primary causeof land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution,loss of biodiversity, and not least of all, global warmingThat's right, global warming. You've probably heard the story:emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are changing ourclimate, and scientists warn of more extreme weather, coastalflooding, spreading disease, and mass extinctions. It seems that whenyou step outside and wonder what happened to winter, you might want tothink about what you had for dinner last night. The U.N. report saysalmost a fifth of global warming emissions come from livestock (i.e.,those chickens Hoover was talking about, plus pigs, cattle, andothers)--that's more emissions than from all of the world'stransportation combined.For a decade now, the image of Leonardo DiCaprio cruising in hishybrid Toyota Prius has defined the gold standard forenvironmentalism. These gas-sipping vehicles became a veritable symbolof the consumers' power to strike a blow against global warming. Justthink: a car that could cut your vehicle emissions in half - in acountry responsible for 25% of the world's total greenhouse gasemissions. Federal fuel economy standards languished in Congress, andaverage vehicle mileage dropped to its lowest level in decades, butthe Prius showed people that another way is possible. Toyota could notimport the cars fast enough to meet demand.Last year researchers at the University of Chicago took the Prius downa peg when they turned their attention to another gas guzzlingconsumer purchase. They noted that feeding animals for meat, dairy,and egg production requires growing some ten times as much crops aswe'd need if we just ate pasta primavera, faux chicken nuggets, andother plant foods. On top of that, we have to transport the animals toslaughterhouses, slaughter them, refrigerate their carcasses, anddistribute their flesh all across the country. Producing a calorie ofmeat protein means burning more than ten times as much fossilfuels--and spewing more than ten times as much heat-trapping carbondioxide--as does a calorie of plant protein. The researchers foundthat, when it's all added up, the average American does more to reduceglobal warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to aPrius.According to the UN report, it gets even worse when we include thevast quantities of land needed to give us our steak and pork chops.Animal agriculture takes up an incredible 70% of all agriculturalland, and 30% of the total land surface of the planet. As a result,farmed animals are probably the biggest cause of slashing and burningthe world's forests. Today, 70% of former Amazon rainforest is usedfor pastureland, and feed crops cover much of the remainder. Theseforests serve as "sinks," absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, andburning these forests releases all the stored carbon dioxide,quantities that exceed by far the fossil fuel emission of animalagriculture.As if that wasn't bad enough, the real kicker comes when looking atgases besides carbon dioxide--gases like methane and nitrous oxide,enormously effective greenhouse gases with 23 and 296 times thewarming power of carbon dioxide, respectively. If carbon dioxide isresponsible for about one-half of human-related greenhouse gas warmingsince the industrial revolution, methane and nitrous oxide areresponsible for another one-third. These super-strong gases comeprimarily from farmed animals' digestive processes, and from theirmanure. In fact, while animal agriculture accounts for 9% of ourcarbon dioxide emissions, it emits 37% of our methane, and a whopping65% of our nitrous oxide.It's a little hard to take in when thinking of a small chick hatchingfrom her fragile egg. How can an animal, so seemingly insignificantagainst the vastness of the earth, give off so much greenhouse gas asto change the global climate? The answer is in their sheer numbers.The United States alone slaughters more than 10 billion land animalsevery year, all to sustain a meat-ravenous culture that can barelyconceive of a time not long ago when "a chicken in every pot" wasconsidered a luxury. Land animals raised for food make up a staggering20% of the entire land animal biomass of the earth. We are eating ourplanet to death.What we're seeing is just the beginning, too. Meat consumption hasincreased five-fold in the past fifty years, and is expected to doubleagain in the next fifty.It sounds like a lot of bad news, but in fact it's quite the opposite.It means we have a powerful new weapon to use in addressing the mostserious environmental crisis ever to face humanity. The Prius was animportant step forward, but how often are people in the market for anew car? Now that we know a greener diet is even more effective than agreener car, we can make a difference at every single meal, simply byleaving the animals off of our plates. Who would have thought: what'sgood for our health is also good for the health of the planet!Going veg provides more bang for your buck than driving a Prius. Plus,that bang comes a lot faster. The Prius cuts emissions of carbondioxide, which spreads its warming effect slowly over a century. A bigchunk of the problem with farmed animals, on the other hand, ismethane, a gas which cycles out of the atmosphere in just a decade.That means less meat consumption quickly translates into a coolerplanet.Not just a cooler planet, also a cleaner one. Animal agricultureaccounts for most of the water consumed in this country, emitstwo-thirds of the world's acid-rain-causing ammonia, and it theworld's largest source of water pollution--killing entire river andmarine ecosystems, destroying coral reefs, and of course, makingpeople sick. Try to imagine the prodigious volumes of manure churnedout by modern American farms: 5 million tons a day, more than ahundred times that of the human population, and far more than our landcan possibly absorb. The acres and acres of cesspools stretching overmuch of our countryside, polluting the air and contaminating ourwater, make the Exxon Valdez oil spill look minor in comparison. Allof which we can fix surprisingly easily, just by putting down ourchicken wings and reaching for a veggie burger.Doing so has never been easier. Recent years have seen an explosion ofenvironmentally-friendly vegetarian foods. Even chains like RubyTuesday, Johnny Rockets, and Burger King offer delicious veggieburgers and supermarket refrigerators are lined with heart-healthycreamy soymilk and tasty veggie deli slices. Vegetarian foods havebecome staples at environmental gatherings, and garnered celebrityadvocates like Bill Maher, Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney, and of courseLeonardo DiCaprio. Just as the Prius showed us that we each have inour hands the power to make a difference against a problem thatendangers the future of humanity, going vegetarian gives us a new wayto dramatically reduce our dangerous emissions that is even moreeffective, easier to do, more accessible to everyone and certainlygoes better with french fries.Ever-rising temperatures, melting ice caps, spreading tropicaldiseases, stronger hurricanes... So, what are you do doing for dinnertonight? Check out www.VegCooking.com for great ideas, free recipes,meal plans, and more! Check out the environmental section ofwww.GoVeg.com for a lot more information about the harmful effect ofmeat-eating on the environment.

 

 

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